This site presents information for hosptials and critical care-givers to help them make their work more family-centered.
Family-Centered Critical Care -- Center of Excellence
Family-Centered Critical Care is a model of practice which sets out to help critical care teams create and achieve the best outcomes possible for patients and their families.
It does so by addressing high-intensity points of stress and failure within the practice of critcal care medicine, with a focus on those areas not directly related to the medical aspects of caring for critically ill patients.
This project describes a number of related practices to help organizations enhance their family-centered work in critical care settings, including:
- informational material for families and staff
- clearly designed roles and protocols to help staff communicate with families in critical care settings
- resources for families to meet urgent needs while in the hospital
Focus
Specific areas of focus include:
- meeting family stress needs early and continually, so families can be present to support and care for their child to the greatest extent possible
- supporting staff by addressing secondary trauma response issues in an open and compassionate way, so staff can function with maximum attentiveness, focus, care and strength.
Influences
This approach is influenced by at least four different bodies of knowledge: